Thursday, December 15, 2011

I just signed up to get a free 99% sticker from Rebuild the Dream. Do
you want one too? The more of us who sign up, the more we can show the
1% that our movement is only growing stronger. Follow the link below and
sign up:
I just signed up to get a free 99% sticker from Rebuild the Dream. Do
you want one too? The more of us who sign up, the more we can show the
1% that our movement is only growing stronger. Follow the link below and
sign up:

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

One of our very active Precinct representatives is using our Votebuilder tool to send holiday letters to the Dems and could-be-Dems in his precinct. If you are a Precinct Committeeman and don't yet have access to Votebuilder, or the "VAN" as it is often called, please contact us at info@dupagedemocrats.com and we will get you set up for your precinct. We can also walk you through how to use it to find the right people to contact and draw up lists and labels to do so.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Congrats to all the candidates--from Precinct Committeemen to Congressional candidates!

Gathering signatures can be both a fulfilling and draining task but it is truly the bedrock of constituent contact. In this day of electronic-everything, showing up at someone's door to ask them a small favor in the name of Democracy is, if I dare go out on a limb here, a sacred activity. Every year, I hear someone say that they were the first political person, according to the occupant, who had ever knocked on their door. Those "first knocks" help change our political climate and our country.

Monday, December 12, 2011

For those of you interested in the goings-on in Illinois state government (or maybe you'd like to get a job or commission!), please check out the Governor's e-newsletter here http://www.illinois.gov/Newsletter/

Friday, December 9, 2011

On Dec 16th, 7-10 at the Holiday in Carol Stream, we will be celebrating the end of another great year of growth for the Democratic Party of DuPage County.

Added to our line up of events this year was a tremendously well-received Unity Reception held Nov 20. At the reception, our congressional candidates vowed to support whomever the primary winners were and they had a chance to speak about why they are Democrats.

I know how crazy people feel right now and the last thing you want to hear about is how productive people do what they do. Well, I skimmed a Yahoo Shine article online and thought I could condense it into something digestible that wouldn't make anyone feel like ONE MORE "should" had been piled on their plate!

Here is the Readers' Digest version of the 8 things that will help you feel more productive and, likely, more sane this season.

Whether you work from home, have a desk or are running around in your car:

1) Take breaks. The article recommends a book called "The Power of Slow" by Christine Hohlbaum.
2) Reset your mood. If the day is starting out rough, take 5 minutes to reset yourself with a small ritual or breathing technique.
3) Eat light, healthy foods at several intervals instead of a heavy lunch.
4) Have a flexible To-Do list; accept that plans get changed (even an airplane en route is off course much of the time).
5) Use technology with intent: set personal email and surfing limits.
6) Balance workload doing minor organizational tasks in small chunks in between intensive work blocks.
7) Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
8) Say no to whiners, complainers and distracting people (wear headphones if you have to!). As a matter of fact, when my kids wanted to whine on and on about something, that is exactly what I did while singing full volume to my favorite tune (probably can't do that in your cubicle, but the theory is sound).

If Senator Jeff Merkley's "expedite the drawdown from Afghanistan" amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act makes a strong showing, that could tip the Obama administration towards a faster drawdown.

Merkley's amendment (#1174) states:1) the President should expedite the transition of security responsibility to the government of Afghanistan;2) the President shall devise a plan for expediting the drawdown of U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan and accelerating the transfer of security authority to Afghan authorities prior to December 2014; and3) within 90 days, the President shall transmit to Congress a plan with a timetable and completion date for the accelerated transition of all military and security operations in Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan.